The Princess and the Pea
by lilacmage
Summary: When Thayet first met Jonathan it was love at first sight, but what if the King and Queen had never died? What would they have thought of her? Would they have believed that this warrior-woman was even a real princess? Adaption of The Princess and the Pea.


**Title**: The Princess and the Pea

**Rating: **PG  
**Fairytale/Nursery Rhyme adapted: **The Princess and the Pea  
**Word Count:** 1556 words  
**Summary**: When Thayet first met Jonathan it was love at first sight, but what if the King and Queen had never died? What would they have thought of her? Would they have believed that this warrior-woman was even a real princess?  
**Notes**: A sweet little fic I wanted to write about Thayet and Jon's love. Written for the Goldenlake Fairytales Challenge. Please enjoy and review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything by Tamora Pierce, or the Princess and the Pea.

* * *

_May, 434_

Jonathan tucked his novel under his bed. It would never do for his squire, Alanna, to find out that he read romance novels at the dead of night when a sane person would be sleeping. No, Alanna could never know of this horrendous fact as she would be sure to tease him or blackmail him in some way or another. Besides, it wasn't as if true love actually existed anyway…

* * *

_June, 439_

When Thayet's eyes fell upon Jonathan it was love at first sight. Everyone else in the room vanished from Thayet's awareness as she gazed into Jon's handsome sapphire eyes and roamed across his perfectly muscled body.

_"Oh, I'm sorry!" a low female voice exclaimed.  
Jon turned to the door and froze, eyes widening in awe. "Great Merciful Mother!" he breathed.  
A tousled Thayet stood there, clutching a dressing gown at her throat. "Faithful woke me up, and then I couldn't sleep." The cat jumped into Alanna's lap, startling her. She hadn't even seen him leave. Thayet, flustered, avoided Jon's eyes as she tried to tuck her bare feet under the hem of her robe. Alanna concealed a grin with her hand.  
George drew the Princess into the room. "We're havin' a bit of tea," he told her, closing the door. "There's a seat by the fire--over next to Jon."  
The King-to-be stood and raised Thayet's hand to his lips. Their eyes met; Thayet's puzzled, his searching. Quickly the Princess drew her hand away, saying drily, "We haven't been introduced."

* * *

_

Jonathan quickly grew to learn that Thayet was not only beautiful, but also very intelligent and interesting to talk to. She was as intelligent as any of his fellow knights, and she was also a warrior. At first she had surprised him by going to morning practices with Liam, Alanna and Buri and he had laughed at it, assuming it was just a phase she was going through, caused by the tragedies of war and her mother's death, but when he saw that she continued to go to the morning practices he realized that fighting was in her blood. It turned out that she was a good shot with a bow and arrow, and her hand-to-hand combat fighting was exceptional as well. They would have long discussions about war tactics and strategies, lasting long into the night. Jon had known that he was in love with this foreign princess from the moment he had met her. Only one problem lay in his way now; convincing his parents that he should marry her.

Thayet had previously been included in a list of possible marriages that his mother and father had written, but she had been disregarded from the list when her majesty had decided that there was no proof that Thayet's blood was pure. Jonathan knew that his parents would never approve of their relationship, but he decided to introduce her to them anyway. Before this would happen, however, he decided to talk to his parents about their situation to avoid the embarrassing situation of their Majesties turning the Princess away in a humiliating public display. Jon tried his absolute hardest to convince his parents to allow the marriage, but nothing would change their minds.

"I will not allow my son, the heir of the throne, to marry a common bastard," his Majesty disagreed in his most disapproving tone.

"There is one way we can find out if she is a real princess," her Majesty interrupted in her quiet voice. "There is a spell, a very little known spell, which my mother told me of as a young girl. It can be used tell if a person is of royal descent or not. We could use it to find out if Thayet is a true princess or not. If she is, your father and I would approve of this marriage most whole-heartedly."

"I refuse to put Thayet through this embarrassment, and besides," he continued in a quieter tone, "what has that to do with the price of peas in Persepolis?" At this, his mother and father both frowned slightly, confused at the statement. Jonathan rolled his eyes; his mother and father would never understand the meaning of sarcasm.

"Well, firstly, no one would ever need to know about the spell, least of all Thayet," her Majesty answered, "and secondly, you should care for the price of peas in Persopolis because it will someday be a part of your kingdom, and besides, the spell comes in the shape of a pea and can only be bought in Persopolis from a Bazhir shaman." Jonathan rubbed his forehead; his parents would _definitely_ never understand the meaning of sarcasm.

"Okay then, fine. Use the spell, just make sure that Thayet never finds out about it." Jonathan sighed in resignation. Their majesties looked at each other hopefully as Jon strode moodily out of the room, wishing that Thayet was a true princess, for the sake of their only son's happiness.

* * *

_July, 439_

Jonathan was nervous about her Majesty's plan. He had never doubted his mother before, but the situation had never been quite like this before either. At worst, it would be over by tomorrow, and then they all would know whether Thayet was a true princess or not. Her Majesty's plan was simple, yet strange. Apparently, for the spell to work, a single, spelled pea must be laid on Thayet's bed, underneath one hundred mattresses. If Thayet was a real princess the pea would emit a spell, giving her an uncomfortable rest and not allowing her to sleep. Jonathan wasn't even sure if it was possible to have one hundred mattresses piled on top of each other, or how Thayet would climb up to the top of the bed, but if the Queen had ordered it to happen then happen it would. He just wished that, if anything, he could just see the look on the quartermaster's face when the queen had told him that he had to make a bed for the visiting princess with one hundred mattresses on it.

Thayet arrived at the castle, escorted by a confused Alanna and a nervous Jon, late that evening. By the time they got to the palace it was pouring and, even after running to reach cover, they were all soaked by the time they got indoors. Her Majesty came to greet them personally in the hall, and offered to show Thayet to her rooms and a warm bath. An intimidated Thayet was then ushered away into the castle, leaving Jon and Alanna standing, shivering, in the corridor.

"Well, I think I'll be leaving for my own rooms now then," Alanna commented with a suspicious glance at the still nervous Jon. Jon agreed and left to find his own rooms, skeptical that he would be able to sleep at all that night.

Thayet was feeling very confused. Jon had been acting so weirdly, and then her Majesty had arrived to personally greet her. The strangest thing, however, had been after she had had her bath and had arrived in her bedroom to find that her bed had about one hundred mattresses piled up on it with a ladder propped up on the side to allow her to climb up to her bed. With a sigh Thayet made her way up to her bed and snuggled under the covers. Buri was right; these Tortallans were strange!

* * *

Thayet was greeted in the morning by none other than her Majesty.

"I hope you had a comfortable night, my dear," the Queen stated as she assisted Thayet in climbing down from the top of the bed.

"I'm afraid I didn't sleep at all," Thayet replied miserly, clutching her aching back. "There was something hard in the bed, and it has made me black and blue all over." At this the Queen almost wept with joy; only a true princess would have been able to feel that spelled pea through so many mattresses. She kept her composure, however; Thayet could never know of this incident.

When Jonathan heard the news he was overjoyed. The first thing he did was ask his parents permission to ask for Thayet's hand in marriage. Their majesties smiled at this. Their son was not fickle about this girl, that was plain, and he would honour her well as her husband.

"Marry her with our blessings, son," the King replied, "And be happy together."

* * *

_November, 439_

The marriage of Jonathan and Thayet was a grand one, amid great rejoicing. The people of Tortall were happy at the prospect that the crown prince may soon have a heir of his own, and Jonathan and Thayet's friends were all happy for their love. Jonathan was the proudest of them all as he swept Thayet off her feet in the chapel isle for a kiss among all of the cheering. He was not the only one to have fallen in love, however; Alanna and George had just announced their betrothal, and at the after party he could see Raoul and Buri deep in discussion in a secluded corner, hiding from the rest of the party. He looked again at his new wife again and grinned, bursting with love and affection. Thayet caught his eye and smiled as he lifted her up for another kiss, to much cheering in the background.


End file.
